Trump Downplays North Korea Missile Tests, Says Kim ‘Too Smart’
- Test to play a part in changing North Korean strategy, it says
- North Korea said denuclearization no longer on the table
Satellite Image of the Sohae satellite launch site on Sept. 8.
Source: Maxar/38 North via Getty Images
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President Donald Trump downplayed Pyongyang’s latest actions, including missile tests, saying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually” if he acts in a hostile way toward the U.S.
Still, Trump said on Twitter that North Korea “must denuclearize as promised,” a day after its envoy to the UN said in a pointed statement that such a move was off the table. Trump said Kim signed a “strong Denuclearization Agreement” when the pair met in Singapore in 2018, although steps toward North Korea giving up its nuclear ambitions were never formalized.